Opinions

The True Cost of Higher Education

Dear GOP,

We are masters students. Would you like to know why? Because having a master’s degree is simply expected if we hope to get even an interview for employment.

According to our parents, a decent job used to be attainable with just a high school education. If they sought higher education, a college degree was certainly a privilege, but still affordable.

Not only that, but a college degree actually carried some weight when it came time to the time of job searching. It was an added bonus, like, “Wow! You have your bachelor’s degree? That’s great! You’re so qualified! And hired!” Now it’s more like: “Wow. You have your bachelor’s degree. That’s great. You’re just like 98% of our other job applicants. We’ll call you.” Ouch.

An article written by Catherine Rampell for The Washington Post mentions how a college degree has now become the new high school diploma as it is ”the minimum credential required to get even the most basic, entry-level job.”

Having a bachelor’s degree is no longer a qualification, it’s an eligibility requirement that merely puts you in the “maybe” pile. A master’s degree is clearly the new bachelor’s, and who’s not to say that soon a PhD will be the new master’s? We’re 75% done with our master’s; many of us don’t want to endure even more school after this! And how are young students expected to keep up with this trend, let alone afford it?

For those who come from a working class family, the obvious solution is to borrow loans for higher education programs. Maybe you’ll work two jobs just to get by. And don’t forget the constant emails reminding you that the money you borrowed have an interest rate that compounds daily, adding nearly eight-dollars to your loan each day on top of what you have already borrowed.

It gets to be an outrageously large red number, but once school is over it’ll all be worth it. Because come graduation, you’ll have a great job that will allow you to quickly pay back all your loans, right?
The crippling debt and the uncertainty about being employed is an anxiety level rising experience that to us students makes us question, will all this be worth it?

Student loan programs started off as a bridge to grant Americans access to education, which is a great sentiment for many students. However, these programs have grown into a money making industry leaving American students in massive debt. According to an article on student debt by James Steele and Lance Williams posted on an ABC15 news site , over 42 million people currently struggle with their student loans, constituting over $1.3 trillion in total student debt.

So let’s get this straight. The banks and our own government are profiting off of our hard work and drive to achieve higher education? You should be helping us! Applauding us! Or at the very least, not actively bankrupting us! We truly believe it is the government’s responsibility to address this issue and to find some kind of solution for the alarming amount of debt the average American student accumulates just to go to school.

Good thing there’s an upcoming presidential election. Surely these candidates understand the current job market’s demand for a highly educated individual and will show some empathy for the tireless energy and money we’re investing in our futures. Maybe don’t hold your breath on that one.

On the Democratic front, Hillary Clinton has outlined a large-scale program for student debt relief, while the Republican Party has shown little initiative, not to mention empathy, for this growing issue. Although Republican candidate Donald Trump has acknowledged the rising costs of college tuition as problematic, voters hear mostly crickets when it comes to a solution.

So far he has taken no clear stance on the matter and has remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Trump’s fellow Republicans haven’t exactly followed suit. Ben Carson, having dropped out of the presidential race and declaring his endorsement for Trump, has taken a firm stance on students adhering to a strong work ethic, and of course, financial common sense.

When asked about student loan crisis he said,“Somehow, people forgot that you don’t buy a house that costs more than 2 ½ times your annual salary… People have to use their brains. That’s why God gave you a brain … so you could understand what you can and cannot afford.” Carson attempted to advise Americans to refrain from buying a home significantly more expensive than our annual income, thus ending our financial woes.

The Grand Old Party would more than likely advise students like us that more hard work will alleviate all our woes. It’s that whole bootstrap mentality. We just need to pull ourselves up by those. We should quit the laziness and simply, get a job! Oh wait, some of us already have two.

To which GOP members may then suggest budgeting money more wisely. Thanks, GOP, what a grand idea.

Hearing members of the Republican party say that students simply need to work a little harder is nothing more than a slap in the face.

Are you getting the sense that the Republican Party just doesn’t want education for the poor? So are we. If they put half as much energy into finding a feasible solution instead of blaming the common student, we probably would have had a breakthrough in this student debt crisis years ago.

Members of the GOP should try working a 16-hour shift in one of our shoes for one day— then try and tell us that we need to work harder!

To make matters worse, the Republican Party continues to emphasize private loans as a method of tuition payment, making the loan process even more unbearable. Private loans are known to have interest rates as high as 18 percent— sometimes higher — and strict requirements including an established credit record, cosigner, and monthly bills that I have to begin paying as soon as my first semester as a masters student begins.

Since when is my loan application more thorough and demanding than my actual college application? Getting accepted into our master’s program was a lot easier than having to visit our local bank and beg for a loan.

It wouldn’t be surprising if banks began requesting written personal statements, too.

According to an article written by Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed, Donald Trump’s campaign co-chair, Sam Clovis, has proposed a significant funding cut for California’s Department of Education. Cuts to this entity would affect funds for college grants which include Pell Grants, subsidized student loans and work study programs. The programs so many students depend on to help pay their way through school.

Come on GOP members, won’t you spare some change for us struggling college students?

We’re already living off of borrowed money. Don’t deplete the only resources that put some coins in our piggy bank. This would hit students hard, leaving our primary loan options at the mercy of private banks. Definitely not the best outlook for the starving student.

Moreover, as budgets are being cut, tuition cost is on the rise. How are we to continue investing in our education, and ultimately our futures, with the price of a bachelor’s degree increasing and student aid decreasing?

So is this an issue of poor financial planning and a lack of drive and hard work? No.

This is about students not being able to afford the skyrocketing tuition prices, regardless of how hard they work.

It’s about the average person, like us and maybe, you— trying to shop for a degree and finding that higher education is indeed on the tallest shelves. The depressing part is, so many of us can’t afford a ladder.

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